In Tavares, Fiat family finds heir to Marchionne legacy

As the scion of the Agnelli family’s industrial dynasty, John Elkann honed his management skills under Sergio Marchionne, who brought Fiat back from the brink before turning it into a global force with the purchase of Chrysler. When Marchionne died suddenly last year, Elkann pushed ahead alone with their quest for another major partner.On Thursday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced a combination with PSA Group to create a regional powerhouse rivaling Volkswagen Group with a stock-market value similar to that of Honda Motor.Elkann stands to gain a new sidekick: Carlos Tavares, PSA’s 61-year-old chief executive officer, who has shown his mettle building an international automotive group while keeping costs under control.Those qualities would make him the heir apparent of the empire Marchionne built.“Auto sector deals are incredibly complex to deliver upon and have no hope of success without a ‘Great Man’ CEO at the controls,” said Max Warburton, an automotive analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. “It’s clear that Tavares has spent years thinking about how a deal with FCA might work.”

In Tavares, Fiat family finds heir to Marchionne legacy

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